Novato indecent exposure suspect had child porn

A Marin County man accused of exposing himself to a little girl at a school appeared briefly in court Tuesday, but it is what police say they found at his home that is so alarming for parents in the community.

Frankly, a complete description of what the sheriff's deputies say they found in that house almost fits the category of "too much information." Suffice it to say, parents in the community are very upset and angry at a suspect who remains in custody on $1 million bail.

Neighbors say they had no clue and no suspicions about the man who, until last Saturday, lived in a house in Novato.

"John, the fisherman," one woman called him.

"I've lived at this residence for six months and I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary," said neighbor Ryan Downey.

"It gives me the creeps because he seemed like such a normal young man," said another neighbor, Christine Bok-Osborne.

The sheriff's office has yet to release a mug shot of 30-year-old Jonathan William Hill, who remained in Marin County jail Tuesday night, after admitting that he exposed himself to young girls at least three times in Marin and Sonoma Counties, including an incident at the Dixie School in Lucas Valley last weekend.

Deputies say that when they searched his house last Saturday, they found materials that could be used to rape, along with a large collection of child pornography and encounter souvenirs.

"It's an extensive amount, thousands of video and photographic images. We don't know how many victims. We are still in the process of identifying victims," said Sgt. Debra Barry.

At a brief court appearance Tuesday afternoon, angry parents showed up just to get a look at the accused man. Cameras were not allowed.

"What shocked me the most was what they found in this guy's house, in his backpack," said parent Patrick Lecouturier. "There was tarps, gloves, condoms, restraints, duct tape..."

In the community, last weekend's arrest brings a sense of relief. One of the cases Hill admitted to took place outside Kent Middle School. Superintendent Mary Jo Pettegrew did not pull any punches regarding her sentiments.

"I would be happy to see this man behind bars, very happy to see him behind bars," she said. "Because, he did put a lot of fear in our children and our community."

Neither the district attorney nor Hill's lawyer spoke to the press Tuesday. Hill appears in court Wednesday morning at 8:30 for his formal arraignment. The sheriff says that by then, there may be more charges.